Press Archive

Call to Action for Cornwall Villages

Villages are being reminded that if they want to enter this year’s Cornwall Best Kept Village competition they must act fast to beat the deadline of Monday 25th April.

Entry forms went out to villages across the county last month and competition organiser on behalf of the Cornwall branch of the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), Courtenay Smale, is urging villages to be pro-active. He commented: “The likelihood is that if your village is eligible to enter the competition, it will have received an entry form already. However, if you’re unsure or need any further information the best thing to do is contact me on 01637 872467 or email cvsmale@cpre.freeserve.co.uk. Entering the competition is a great way of bringing communities together by working towards a common goal, and I want as many of Cornwall’s villages to benefit from this as possible. There is no entry fee to pay and villages have everything to gain from entering.”

The competition is sponsored by Calor, the UK’s leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with additional support from the Cornwall Federation of Women’s Institutes and the Cornwall Association of Local Councils. It focuses on the community spirit highlighted through a village’s well-kept environment, and celebrates communities pulling together for the benefit of all residents.

Following on from the Best Kept Village competition, a number of Cornwall’s villages will also be offered the opportunity of putting together an entry for the county’s Village of the Year competition in order to find a nominee for the national English Calor Village of the Year^® competition. Calor Village of the Year^® has a different focus than Cornwall’s Best Kept Village competition with categories covering six aspects of life in a rural community: Building Community Life, Business, Young People, Older People, the Environment and Information Communications Technology (ICT).

Thanks to competition support from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) this year, there will be £500 available for a number of successful villages in Building Community Life section of the Cornwall Village of the Year competition. Courtenay Smale added: “Our nominee to the national competition last year, St Neot, did tremendously well winning the overall title and £6,000 top prize. I am sure that other villages in Cornwall have what it takes to follow in St Neot’s footsteps and gain recognition at national level, but first they need to take the plunge and put together an entry for the county competition.” The deadline for entries to the Cornwall Best Kept Village competition is 25th April 2005. Judging will take place during May, June and July and the winners will be announced in early August. A formal presentation event will also be held later in the year.

For further information and entry forms, please contact Courtenay Smale on 01637 872467, email cvsmale@cpre.freeserve.co.uk

Further press information from: Emma Flinn, Flent PR Ltd tel: 0161 817 4200 email: emma.flinn@connectpoint.co.uk